The effects of pregnancy massage on mother and baby

Abstract

Pregnancy massage has been used as a catch-all term for any hands-on massage in the prenatal or postnatal periods. There is reference to pregnancy massage in ancient ayurveda medicine texts where, without medical intervention and modern drugs, massage was used to tone and relax the mother's body during pregnancy, prepare the mother physically and psychologically for the birth, and aid healing postpartum. In the middle ages in England midwives used massage as an essential part of their work, leading them to be both admired and feared for their ‘magical’ healing skills. More recently, there has been research conducted on the effects of massage on both mother and baby. This review will examine some of the available literature on the benefits and contradindications of massage in pregnancy.